Biggest Banks “Prioritized” Larger Clients for Small Business Loans, Lawsuits Claim

Class-action lawsuits allege that JPMorgan Chase and financial giants such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo “prioritized corporate greed” in distributing tens of billions of dollars from a now-emptied federal coronavirus relief fund meant for small businesses. Instead, the complaints claim, big banks put larger borrowers seeking larger loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ahead of smaller firms seeking to support their stretched payrolls.
The suits say the banks did so to maximize loan-origination fees, and their own profits, before the PPP fund ran out. That left many small businesses shut out from the program. The loans, made through the U.S. Small Business Administration, were supposed to be first come, first serve, according to the litigation.Read more at CBS News >>